The Life I Chose
by OncerForLife'IG
Summary: Princess Fiona is actually Regina's daughter. After she escapes from the tower, she's placed in storybrooke like everyone else but once the curse is broken, will she find out the truth?
1. Chapter 1

My name is Alexandra Anderson or as some people used to call me, Princess Fiona. In Storybrooke, I work at the hospital as a nurse but back before the curse was enacted I was sent by my parents, the king and queen, to spend my childhood and teen years locked away in the biggest castle, in the tallest tower, which was guarded by a dragon whose name was Malificent.

The day I escaped, I remember like no other. I was doing my usual waiting of some sort of Prince Charming to come and save me and we were to share true love's kiss. There was a sudden roar coming from downstairs and when I went to peak, I saw this man who had the poise of a knight, with a sword in one hand and this golden egg shaped box in the other. I watched in amazement as he challenged the fierce dragon and then it dawned upon me, this was my chance to escape while he kept her distracted.

I quickly ran back upstairs and packed the few clothes I had and quickly but safely climbed out of the window and I landed on my back but even the pain of the fall couldn't stop my excitement of finally being free. I made my way to the nearest source of water and had a drink. I tried to think of what to do next, since I was a free woman and all, so I kept walking til I came across a small village.

I got weird looks but I shrugged them off, then I heard whispers, something about someone named Regina and a Snow. It wasn't until later that I figured out they were talking about the ongoing feud those two were having. After I had situated myself up against the side of one of the buildings, I heard this raspy voice, "You're much too pretty of a girl to be out here all alone. What's your name?"

I looked up to greet the stranger with a smile, "Fiona. Yours?" He reached out to shake my hand and as I grabbed it he answered, "Grumpy is my name. Why are you out here all alone Fiona?" I looked down, ashamed of the answer I would have to give, "I was locked away in a tower and I just escaped." A look of compassion fell upon his face, "Well you're welcome to stay with my 6 brothers and I until you're able to take care of yourself." I nodded as I stood up and followed him back to his home, my new home. They told me stories of Snow White, The Evil Queen, and Prince Charming, it was all so enchanting to listen to.

Almost a year went by when that awful curse fell upon the land and sent us to Storybrooke. I had finally become free but now I was being trapped all over again, a part of me wanted the Queen dead but I knew that was wrong. I tried running the night before but it didn't help, instead I ran into Regina. "Who...who are you?" I frowned at her, "My name is Fiona, someone who will be severely affected by your curse."

She laughed, "Oh dear, don't worry. I'll make sure you live comfortably." She tried reaching for my face to give some sort of comforting gesture but I turned away, "Being FREE is living comfortably!" I shouted as a tear streamed down my face. "Well, I don't know what to say dear. The curse will happen, now you can either accept my offer or suffer like the rest of them. Your choice." She had given me an ultimatum. "Fine. I accept." I sighed and covered my face, hiding the tears. "Don't worry, everything will be okay." She patted me on the back.

I couldn't bring myself to say anything else. She brought me back to her place to spend my last night in the Enchanted Forest in luxury, well her definition of luxury. She conjured a tasteful meal and I slept on the finest material, she did try to make me feel comfortable. When the curse struck the next day, immediately I found myself in a nurse's uniform, in the hospital, working.

I had enough money to take care of myself and I was friends with Ruby and Mary Margaret and I even had a conversation with the mayor from time to time. All the while she knew exactly who I was, yet she plastered on a smile as she watched us suffer every day. Once the curse broke, I thought about finding my parents but then I decided not to. Since they were the ones who stuck me in that godforsaken tower in the first place. Regina somehow found me but all my frustration had come back. Why couldn't I just finally be happy?


	2. Chapter 2

Before attempting to barge in on Regina and asking her a series of questions, I decided I needed to cool off, so I went and sat on a park bench. I looked across the water, watching the waves ripple and I found myself thinking about the night before the curse happened. I can remember her saying, "You remind me of someone, I just can't quite figure out who." And those words now made my mind wonder who she was comparing me to. I also wondered why she was being so nice to me, she didn't know me, at least to my knowledge she didn't.

"Fiona?" I heard someone call my name, only to turn around and see Mary Margaret, better yet, Snow. I smiled slightly, "Hey Snow." She sat next to me, smiling as she wrapped her arm around me and hugged me, "Are you feeling okay? What's on your mind?" I thought I was hiding my sadness but apparently I wasn't. I sighed, "I was just thinking about what happened the night before the curse. The conversation I had with Regina."

She looked at me, curiosity filled her eyes, "You knew Regina prior to the curse?" I slowly nodded, "Yeah, I was attempting to escape when she found me and took me back to her castle. She was actually pretty nice to me. She fed me and let me sleep comfortably. I think if you just get past her wall she has, and allow her to be nice to you, she will. So many people viewed her as the evil queen rather than taking the time to actually get to know her, so she just decided to play the role you all cast her as."

Snow was at a loss for words, "Wow. I had no idea. Maybe you should go talk to her, I'm sure she needs a friend right now." She smiled and I returned a smile. "You're probably right." I stood up and hugged her again, "Thanks for understanding Snow." I made my way to the mayor's house with my mind set on being a friend but having my questions answered as well. Today, we were going to resolve this.

I stood at the door, debating on if I should actually knock on the door. I was having second thoughts, I began wondering if she would decide to be stubborn, but through every doubt, I knocked on the door anyway. I heard someone say, "One second please!" And suddenly the door opened and there she stood. "Fiona? How may I help you?" She didn't smile but she didn't frown either.

"May I come in?" I asked, avoiding eye contact. She stepped aside and I went inside but didn't dare walk farther inside. She lead me to the couch and gestured for me to sit, "What's on your mind?" She asked and I sighed, "I have a few questions that I had hoped you would answer. And maybe we can continue to have a friendship." She raised her eyebrow, "Well let's get the questions out of the way first and then we can talk about friendship." I sat down on the couch next to her, "Fine. The night before the curse was enacted, what did you mean by saying I reminded you of someone?"

She pursed her lips, "Hmm. You just reminded me of someone, what's so strange about that?" I narrowed my eyes, "Okay, I guess the better question is did you know who I was before the night we met?" She sighed loudly, "Yes. I knew exactly who you were Fiona Lillian Mills." My eyes widened, "Whoa! Wait, what did you just call me?!" Her eyes began to fill up with tears, "I just called you by your name. Which is Fiona Lillian Mills. Your father wanted you to carry the Mills name rather than his own." I was so confused, "But my father is King Midas, right?!"

She nodded, "Yes, your adopted father is King Midas, but your real father's name was Daniel." She closed her eyes for a moment, "What do you mean, "was"? Regina I'm so confused right now." She grabbed my hands, "I know. In time you will understand. It's just right now, I can't bring myself to tell you everything. Please understand, it's just a long, complicated story." I frowned, "You really aren't making an ounce of sense." She took a deep breath, "Give me a day to think everything through and I promise, I'll answer all your questions and tell you everything." I stood up, "Fine! You want to play charades, you do that. You know where to find me when you're ready to make some sense." I stormed out of her house and slammed the door behind me.

I could feel the rage inside grow bigger, I tried to calm myself down by taking deep breaths but it just wasn't working. What did she mean, "was"? And if Daniel was my real father then who on earth was my mother? The more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Ruby was walking my way but I was just too upset to talk. "Whoa! Fiona!" I glared at her, "What Ruby?" She looked at me with widened eyes, "Your eyes. They have fire in them!"

I tried to process what she just said but it wasn't working, so I pulled out my mirror from my purse and sure enough, she was right. I stared in disbelief at my mirror, wondering how and why this was happening. "Are you okay?" She asked. I just nodded, "Yeah, I'm gonna go home, I need to rest." I said and kept walking. I got home and I sat in my living room, staring blankly at the tv, which was off.

I was trying to take in everything that just happened today but I was way too confused. Why wouldn't she tell me everything now? What if she knows my real mom and wants to keep her from me? I wonder of Midas knows of my really birth parents. If Regina won't tell em then I guess I'll just have to find out on my own. I ran to my room and inside my jewelry box was this ring, ever since I could remember, I always wore the ring, all through my childhood, never taking it off. But once I got to Storybrooke, I didn't see a reason for me to continue wearing it, seeing as how I couldn't remember where it came from, even though it wasn't like I knew before then anyway.

I inspected the ring for any type of clue and on the inside it said, "I love you Regina. Love Daniel" I dropped to my knees as tears fell from my eyes. No. It can't be true. How? Why? I covered my face with my hands and continued crying. It was too much to handle at one time. So many emotions were going through my mind right now, I was angry, sad, confused, just all of the above. I cried even more, only to look up and see the lights fluttering. I stopped crying and stood up, staring at the lights and then they stopped. "What the?" I asked out loud. Just then Rumple appeared in my room, "Hello Dearie." I turned around to see him smirking, "And to what do I owe this unwanted visit?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Well dearie, I came to check on you. To see how you were doing since the curse was broken." I raised my eyebrow, "Wait, how did you get into my house?" I asked and he did his infamous imp giggle, "Why magic of course." I glared at the smirk on his face, "There's magic here now?" He sat in the chair by my window, "Indeed. Have you noticed anything different within yourself?" I tilted my head in confusion, "What do mean?"

He stared at me as if I was supposed to know what he meant. "You have magic. You didn't know that?" My mouth dropped in awe, "I have what?! Hold on, how?" He got up and walked toward me, staring me in my eyes, "Yes, your magic is powerful. True love's magic in fact. Seems like Ms. Swan has a rival." I still couldn't believe what was going on, "True love? You mean my parents? You know who my parents are, don't you?"

He sighed, "Sadly, yes. I know everything about you. I've been watching you since the day you were born." I began to get angry, "Well then why didn't you save me from that wretched tower?! And if you know everything about me, who are my parents?"

"I didn't save you because you wouldn't have learned how to cope by yourself. And to answer your last question, I believe you already know the answer to it." And with that, he disappeared. I huffed in agitation, I finally knew who my parents were but now I know I have magic. This is just great, something else to add on to my list of questions. I went in my kitchen and grabbed a glass of water, "How on earth am I supposed to learn how to control my magic?" I thought out loud.

I sat my glass down on the counter and stared at it. I wanted it to levitate. I calmed myself down, took a deep breath and pictured it levitating, when I opened my eyes, the glass was levitating so high it met me at eye level. I smiled at my accomplishment, it may have been small, but it was a step in the right direction. With that, I began trying to move things with my magic. I spent the night moving stuff around and making things appear and disappear. I fell asleep on the couch with music playing.

There was a knock at the door but I couldn't hear it because the music was too loud. I just grunted and rolled over on the couch. The knocks grew louder and I was able to hear it finally. I grumbled as I got up to answer it only to see Regina standing behind it. I rubbed my eyes, still groggy, "Yeah?" Regina slightly smiled, "Wow, you must be a really bad sleeper." I sighed, "Are we going to stand here and chit chat about my sleeping habits, which I probably inherited from you, or are we going to talk about something important, like why you are at my door?"

She was taken back by my statement, "I'm here to tell you everything. May I enter?" I stood aside, signaling her to come in and she turned my music off and sat down at my table. "Hey!" I said, "Why'd you turn my music off?" She narrowed her eyes, "So you could hear me." I glared at her and crossed my arms as I sat across from her, "Fine." I huffed. She shook her heard with a smirk, "That attitude. Wow. Anyway, as I see you've figured out, yes, you're my daughter. I'm your birth mother. Your father was killed a few months before you were born."

She stopped and looked down, "Your grandmother made me give you away when you were only a couple of months old, to King Midas. She kept you a secret from everyone. She killed your father. I know this is a lot to take in but I want you to know I never stopped loving you. I always made sure you stayed out of harms way. Once I heard that Midas had stuck you in a tower, I went to Rumplestiltskin for help to get you out, but he told me you had to stay there for your own benefit."

She sighed, "So you mean to tell me, all this time, you've known about me. That's why you were so nice to me that night before the curse! Why didn't you tell me then?" A tear strolled down my left cheek and she looked at me with regret in her eyes. "It wouldn't have mattered, the curse was about to take place and you would have forgotten anyway. Fiona, please, I do love you, always have and always will. You're my baby girl, you have your father's eyes and my attitude." She chuckled a bit, trying to fight the tears.

I stood up, "And we're just supposed to immediately have some kind of mother daughter relationship?" I threw my arms up in the air and my ring must have caught her attention because she grabbed my hand. "The ring your father gave me." She tilted her head, "I gave that to you before I gave you to Midas. It was the only thing I could give you to remind you of us. Your father made that ring with his bare hands." And after that she began crying softly, trying to hide it from me and I felt bad.

I crouched down beside her and grabbed her hand as I sighed, "Okay. Why don't we work on our relationship? I'd love to get to know my mom." I cracked a half smile and she looked at me, "Sure." She said as she nodded. I stood to my feet, bringing her with me, "I do have a question for you though. Why did Midas send you to that tower?" She asked and I looked down.

She picked my head up by my chin, "Hey, it's okay. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." I shook my head, "No, it's okay. From what I remember, I was sent to that tower because I was bad. Like really rebellious as a kid. Whatever they said do, I did the complete opposite. And he felt like some solitude would do me some good." She studied my face, "Are you serious? Midas better be glad he's dead. Wait, if you had the ring all this time, how did you not think you had other parents?" My newfound mother raised her eyebrow.

"I did question Midas but he told me that the peoples' names in the ring were my godparents who lived far away and that I wasn't allowed to see them. I don't remember the full answer because I eventually just stopped asking." I covered my mouth with my hand because I could feel the tears coming. She grabbed me and pulled me toward her in an embrace, I couldn't fight the tears anymore and I just laid my head on her shoulder as she caressed my head. "Godparents my ass. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that darling." I just nodded as I kept my head on her shoulder and we stood there for a few minutes in silence but our hearts were speaking. I forgave her for everything and she was just happy to have her child back. Finally, I could actually be happy. I may be 19 but I still need my mom in my life.


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh Fiona, just do it!" she yelled, becoming impatient. I frowned, "I will have my revenge, I hope you realize that." She laughed, "Oh please dear, you don't have the element of surprise. I'm your mother, I know everything you're going to do before you do it." I groaned, "Just take the picture woman!" I shouted and she laughed harder. "Aww, look at my beautiful baby." She showed me the picture.

She made me put on a dress and take christmas pictures even after I begged to just wear normal clothes but nope, she forced me to wear a dress that you would normally wear to a ball. "Are you happy? Can I take this thing off now?" I huffed but smiled at her smile. She nodded and I wasted no time and took the dress off right where I was. "You could've waited til you got upstairs." She shook her head as I stood there in my shorts and t-shirt. "Nope. That thing was itchy. I'm so glad I didn't have to wear that all the time." I smirked as I looked behind me at the big christmas tree.

"Only a few more days til christmas." I said as she picked the dress up and put it back in the box. "Yes, and I can't wait to see yours and Henry's faces as you open your presents." Her face was glowing at the mention of her children. "Wait mom, you weren't supposed to get me anything, having you is enough." She stopped and stood in front of me, placing a hand gently on my cheek, "Are you kidding?" She smiled. "You're my baby, it's my time to spoil you."

I couldn't help but smile and there was no use in arguing with her, she was stubborn and her mind was made up, "Fine, your majesty." She narrowed her eyes playfully, "Oh it's your majesty now huh?" She grabbed me and started tickling me unmercifully, "Alright!" I yelled through the laughs. She stopped and looked at me so adoringly, then wrapped her arms around me, "I love you more than life itself." I felt like I couldn't breathe in that moment, I thought tears would start shooting out of my eyes, "I love you so much mommy. You are the light of my life." She kissed me on the forehead and I just rested in her embrace.

"You know we gotta stop doing this so much." I chuckled, "Because I could stay here in your arms forever. It just feels so...nurturing and warm." She closed her eyes and rested her cheek on my head as she ran her hand through my hair, "I know." She let out a big sigh of relief and smiled, "I should get dinner started." She ran her arms down mine and grabbed my hands as she pulled away.

"Okay, I'll go put on actual comfortable clothes." I smirked and began to walk away, "Fiona, take the dress with you knucklehead. Put it in the closet for me please?" I grabbed the box, "Of course mother dear." I teased and she raised her eyebrow, "Mhm...I have a wooden spoon in here and I'm not afraid to use it!" She laughed and I knew she was just kidding. I ran upstairs and shouted, "In your dreams!" before shutting the door behind me.

I got dressed pretty quickly before taking the time to notice my mom's room. I had only been in here a couple of times but never long enough to notice much. I placed the box in the closet like she asked and just stood staring at all the stuff she had. Her dresser had so much jewelry spread across it, I wondered where she got it all from. Then I remember she was queen once so that's probably where they came from.

My eyes stumbled upon a weird book, I picked it up and flipped through the pages but they were just words that didn't make sense. I heard footsteps and then I heard "Fiona? What's taking you so long silly?" I quickly put the book down and stepped away just in time for my mom to open the door and see me, "Oh uhm, I was just thinking." I blurted out without thinking. She looked around for clues that would lead her to the actual truth, "Right. Well come downstairs, I could use your help." I smiled, "Okay." and I darted past her, avoiding eye contact. Even though we've only had a relationship for a few months she could still look me in my eyes and tell when something was wrong or if I was lying.

I quickly went downstairs, moving as fast as I could and put my earphones in, attempting to avoid conversation about what just happened. I covered the wires with my hair and began chopping the vegetables she had laying out on the cutting board. I was moving around, pretending to listen to music when there was really nothing playing and I hadn't noticed when she came downstairs and unplugged the earphones from my phone, and I kept bobbing my head, "So honey, what was all of that upstairs?" I closed my eyes and kept pretending to jam.

She crossed her arms, "Fiona Lillian Mills." My eyes shot open and widened, "I unplugged your earphones so I know you're trying to avoid me. Now what happened? Out with it before I get angry." I sighed, "I was just looking around. No big deal." I shrugged. "No big deal? It may be a big deal depending on what you saw while you looked around. What did you see?" Her tone was unpleasant and she had agitation written all over it, "I just saw this book with weird words on it." She raised her eyebrow, "The one on my dresser?"

I nodded, "Yeah, what do the words mean?" She gave a sigh of relief, "That, is your grandmother's book of spells." I smirked, "Wait, what did you think I saw?" She blushed, "Doesn't matter. I'm not telling you." We laughed, "And you wonder where I get my silliness from." I smiled and we continued cooking. "When does Henry come home?" I asked, and that caused her to smile. "Tonight. I'm so glad to have my babies back."

"Mom?!" We heard the front door slam and in ran Henry with his arms held out for a hug. "Oh my sweet boy." She grabbed onto him with the biggest smile. He wrapped his arms around her, "I missed you so much!" I smiled watching them, "I missed you too!" She replied, finally ceasing to hug. "Hey little bro, missed you." I smiled at him and he rushed to give me a hug too, "Fiona! I missed you too." I chuckled a bit, "So how was it in the Enchanted Forest for you?" His face lit up and we spent almost an hour talking about his adventures and the sights he got to see.

I glanced over at my mom who was staring in admiration at us and smiling every so often. "I only wish I could've been there with you honey." She said, taking the food out of the oven. "Well we could go as a family, you, Fiona, and I." He suggested and I thought about it for a moment, "I wouldn't mind going back." She paused, "No. I don't think that's a good idea right now. And I don't want you two going alone, understand?" We looked at each other and then at our mother and silently nodded, "Good. Now let's eat." We let her walk ahead of us.

Henry tugged on my arm and whispered, "We're going aren't we?" I smirked, "Oh yeah." We high five each other and quickly wipe the smiles off our faces so she won't suspect anything. Dinner was peaceful and after Henry got cleaned up, we all were sitting in his room as she read him a bedtime story. She sat between the both of us as we cuddled her, "I won't fall asleep. C'mon I'm 19." I teased and she smiled.

"We'll see. You'll be asleep in no time." She began reading the story and Henry was asleep in no more than 10 minutes and seeing him asleep made me yawn and rub my eyes. "Mhm. Told you." She laughed. "Come on, I'll tuck you in." As we walked to the room she deemed as mine whenever I wanted to sleep over, I kept rubbing my eyes and yawning. I got into bed and she kissed my forehead, "Sleep well. Mommy loves you."

Just as she was about to leave I grabbed her arm, "Mom...please...sleep in here with me?" I made the puppy dog face which she couldn't say no to and when she sighed I smiled, knowing I was about to get my way. "Only because the air is cooler in here." She said as she got into bed and wrapped her arms around me. I smirked, "I love you mommy." She just pulled me closer and kissed me again, "My princess..." was all she said before we both were fast asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

I woke up to the sun shining in my face and birds chirping, I sat up to see my mom wasn't next to me. She must've been downstairs, or in her room. I got up and went downstairs to see a note on the counter. I picked it up and read it, "Fiona, I had to go to the office. Something about an emergency. You and Henry stay out of trouble while I'm gone. I'll be home for dinner. I love you two! Xoxo" I smirked for a bit at her telling us to stay out of trouble but the sound of my stomach growling turned my attention to the fridge.

"Food…breakfast food." I scratched my head as I stood with the fridge open, trying to find something suitable for us to eat. "Where's mom?" was all I heard when I was startled. I turned to see Henry and gave a sigh of relief. "Morning munchkin. She had to go to the office. She said she'd be home for dinner. Thing is, I have no clue what to cook us for breakfast." He shrugged, "Waffles?" I looked in the freezer, "We don't have any…" He face palmed, "I'll just poof us up some. I keep forgetting about magic." I shook my head laughing, "Me too. I forget that we both have magic since mom doesn't like us to use it often." He nodded, "Yeah. So waffles, eggs and bacon okay?" "You bet." I answered and he waved his hand. Breakfast appeared and after eating and getting cleaned up, we were sitting on the couch watching TV when Henry turned to me, "So when are we going back to the EF?" I raised my eyebrow, "EF?" "You know, the Enchanted Forest?" "Ooh. I guess we can go now." I shrugged. "Really?!" His face lit up.

I smiled, "Yeah no. Mom said to stay out of trouble." He frowned, "She doesn't have to know. I'm going back. I forgot something." I grabbed his arm as he stood up, "Henry don't! Mom's going to be furious! And kill me! And you! Let's just keep watching TV, please?" I pleaded but his mind was mind up. I sighed, "Fine. Let's go. But we're coming back asap!" He smiled, "Promise." And with that being said, before I knew it we were back in the forest.

I looked around, admiring the scenery I had once forgotten. All my memories were rushing back to me, I smiled at seeing the flowers bloom and hearing the river run. Deep down, I guess I missed this place, but I felt like I would regret coming back. "Henry, what if something happens to us while we are here?" He thought for a moment, "Well then we'll send mom a note, just in case." I poofed up some paper and a pen and wrote: "Mom, Henry and I are in the EF. We'll be back soon, he forgot something here." and poofed it onto the refrigerator.

"So what is it that you lost Henry?" I asked as I continued looking around. "It's a vial of pixie dust. Back at the castle." He started walking, "Wait, where'd you get pixie dust from and what castle?" I grabbed his shoulder. "I got it from Neverland. Stole it from Pan so when he realizes it's missing, he'll come to Storybrooke and I can strike my revenge. And my grandparents' castle." I arched my eyebrow, "Your revenge? And don't you think going in abandoned castles are a little dangerous?" He sighed, "We can discuss my revenge later. Right now we need to get there before it gets dark. The ogres are back and we need to be in some kind of shelter. Our magic isn't strong enough to fight them yet."

I huffed, "Oh great! I completely forgot about ogres." I frowned as we continued walking. When we finally came across the castle the sun was setting, "We made it just in time. We'll be able to leave in the morning." He said as he led me inside. "I'm glad I sent mom that note since we won't be back til tomorrow. We're dead meat when we do get back. But I guess we better make the best of it. Now let's find your pixie dust so we can get to sleep." He nodded, "The last place I remember having it was in my mom's baby room." I stood in awe at how big the castle was, and Emma's room was beautiful before the curse tore everything up. I wonder if this would've been something like my life had my mom not given me up and sent me to those people who never really loved me.

I was in a daze when Henry snapped his fingers, "Fiona? Hey Fiona!" I shook my head a little, "Huh? Yeah, did you find it?" He smiled, "Yep! Now we can get some rest for tomorrow." I smiled back, "Good! Where do we sleep?" I looked around trying to find a suitable spot, "Near the entrance. That way we can quickly get out if we need to. Plus there's two couches and a fireplace." I nodded and followed him back to what looked like it could've been a living room. After building a fire and making sure Henry was asleep, I laid on the couch staring into the fire, watching the flames dance and I couldn't help but dream about what I would look like as a princess walking around in big, fluffy ball gowns, and wearing a tiara, having servants, but most of all, having my mom.

I started to remember how Midas treated me, in public he was loving, but behind closed doors he would yell at me for any little thing. I was never good enough for him, he constantly said I could never be a part of his family, nor could I replace his real daughter. Those words haunted me, and those words were why I began to rebel. I felt like, since I couldn't fulfill the part he said I couldn't play, I would become someone else. I would break things, throw tantrums, run away any chance I got and I would climb the biggest and tallest tree I could find and cry, wishing there was a way for me to leave that wretched family. I could feel myself tuning up to cry as I was traveling down memory lane and I quickly tried to think of something else, I didn't want to cry, I knew I would do enough of that once we got home tomorrow. I slowly drifted off to sleep, wishing for peaceful thoughts and sweet dreams.

"Fiona! Wake up!" Henry was shaking me when my eyes fluttered open to see the worried look on his face. "What's wrong?!" I jumped up to see the fire was put out and it was morning, "It's time to go!" I sighed, "Alright. Let's go." I grabbed his hand and noticed the vial of pixie dust around his neck, and in a flash we were home, in the kitchen to be precise. My eyes quickly glanced to the refrigerator as I prayed the note would still be pinned to it, but it wasn't. Henry tip toed toward the living room, quietly looking for any sign of mom.

He waved his hand, signaling for me to follow him, apparently the coast was clear. We slowly walked up the stairs, careful not to step on the ones that creaked. "Freeze right there you two!" Even though it startled us, we knew exactly who it was. We didn't even make it halfway up the stairs before turning around to see our mom standing at the bottom with her arms crossed, frowning. With our heads hung low, we came back downstairs and stood in front of her, "So the Enchanted Forest? After I specifically said not to!" I kept my eyes on the ground, too afriad to see the expression on her face, "Yes. I'm sorry mom, I had to get something I forgot there." Henry said as he tucked the vial inside his shirt. "And what was that?" She asked as she arched her eyebrow.

"It doesn't matter, I couldn't find it." She sighed, "Henry, we'll talk about your lying later, because I know exactly why you went and I know you have what you went for. But Fiona, I expected better from you. You're the oldest." I slowly lifted my eyes and I could see and hear the disappointment, "He was going to go with or without me." I shrugged a little. "Then that's when you should have called me and let me know. I see you two are going to have to learn the hard way. Grounded. Three weeks each." I raised my eyebrow, "Excuse me? First of all, I'm 19, I'm not a child. And secondly, you've been my mom for all of what, five months? I don't think that we've hit that point in the relationship where you can tell me what to do like that."

I regretted my choice of words immediately after they flew out of my mouth because she grew angrier, so angry that tears were streaming down her face and she didn't even bother to wipe them. Henry stood with wide eyes but didn't dare utter a word. She chuckled, "I'm sorry you feel that way, but sweetheart, you won't be leaving this house for the next three weeks, whether you like it or not." I crossed my arms, "And how do you plan on stopping me?" She took a step closer to me, "Magic. This house is enchanted so that you and Henry can't leave without me. It's basically like you're trapped in one big bubble. We're going to have so much fun. You want to work on our relationship, well here's your chance." She smirked and frowned at the same time, and I stood in defeat, I couldn't do anything but huff. She just grounded me...

A week had went by and sure enough, I couldn't leave the house. Henry spent most of his time reading and doing the chores mom assigned him. We couldn't watch TV, use our phones, or any electronics that would entertain us for that matter. I spent my time in my room staring out the window, thinking about how I was trapped once again. Every few hours she would come in and check on me, bring me a snack, and try to talk to me but I remained silent. She was persistent in trying to break my silent strike, "Fiona please..." She sighed sadly, "Won't you talk to me?"

I slowly turned to face her, "What do you want me to say?" She wanted to smile but then she realized my tone was an agitated one, "I want you to tell me what's going on in that head of yours." I stared at her and slightly tilted my head and let out a little chuckle, "You wanna know what's going on in my head? I don't think you do. Plus it's really painful to even talk about, let alone think about." She frowned, "Try me."

I sighed, "Okay, fine, you want to know what I'm thinking about?! I'll tell you what I'm thinking about! I'm trying to wrap my head around the idea of why you saw fit to lock me in this house after I spent at least five years of my life locked away in a tower! And I'm also trying to understand why Midas constantly talked down to me and treated me like dirt when we weren't in public. Why he felt like I was trying to fill his daughter's shoes, why you didn't see fit to take me and run away! For years, I thought about nothing but why I was born to wretched parents and then to find out my mom GAVE me away to people who didn't really want me, it hurts my heart. And now I learn that I have magic, the very thing that could've saved me from that tower years ago and I could've attempted to learn more about my past, but no. I learn way too late and it serves no purpose as of right now. So, you wanted to know what I was thinking, those are what's floating around in my head right now." After taking a deep breathe I noticed she stood silently, taking in all my words and I couldn't do anything but fall to the floor and cover my face with my hands, shaking my head as tears fell.


	6. Chapter 6

_**So sorry it's taking me so long to update here.**_

She crouched down and raised my head by my chin, "Come on, get up. There are some things we need to talk about." She said as she wiped the tears away. I got up and we sat on the bed, she looked at me, trying to put together the right words in her mind, "I'm so sorry everything happened the way it did but I want you to understand that I never stopped regretting the decision to give you up but I also want you to know that if I didn't, your grandmother would've killed you. The only reason she didn't, was because Midas said he would take you as far away from our kingdom as possible so no one would suspect anything and my mother loved the sound of that." She reached to grab my hand and I let her as I kept looking at her, listening and waiting for her to continue. "From the moment you left my arms, my world shattered into a million pieces. Everyday I thought about you, what you were doing, and how they were treating you. And I would cry because I realized I was going to miss your first step, first word, and the fact that you would call someone else mom broke MY heart. So don't think this only affected you, at least for 28 years you were able to forget. I have had to live with this since that day and it hasn't gotten easier. Now that I have you back, I can't lose you again, I refuse to. You are my world, my everything, you and Henry are the product of me trying to do something right. I loved you from the moment I knew you existed and always will Fiona."

She smiled at me as tears fell and I just flung into her arms and started sobbing. "I'm so sorry mom. I love you too and I don't ever want to be without you again!" She caressed my head and shushed me, "It's okay baby girl. Mommy is here and I'm not going anywhere. Everything's going to be okay, I promise." And we just sat there, me in her arms, silent yet speaking through our hearts.

I looked up at her and noticed she was staring out the window, lost in thought. "Mom?" I called out and she looked down at me smiling, "Hm?" I returned a smile, "What are you thinking about? You looked like you were lost in thought." She sighed, "I'm just grateful that you finally told me how you were really feeling. Now I know you were keeping everything bottled up inside. From now on, I want you to tell me if something is bothering you. Don't keep stuff like that inside. We're both broken, really broken, but with time and each other, we can be whole again." My smile weakened for a moment, "So much pain that we've endured. And for what? Status? Worrying about what someone may say or think? That's not right."

She shook her head, "No, it's not. But I couldn't do anything if I wanted you to live. And she had magic on her side so I was defenseless. Your father was my only comfort before you were born and he was the first thing she took from me." I locked my fingers in hers and rested my head on her lap and she ran her hands through my hair, "Can you tell me about him? It's okay if you don't want to." She chuckled a bit, "Oh dear, it's fine. Thinking about him can always make me smile. Well, I met your father when we were about your age. He was the stable boy and I was about to go for my riding lesson when I saw him getting my horse ready. He turned to face me and our eyes locked, I'll never forget those beautiful eyes of his. We both just stared at each other smiling. After a few more encounters, he finally asked me out to lunch and I agreed. We had so much fun, laughing, talking about everything, but that connection we felt with each other, it was so powerful. I knew then and there he was the one for me. We dated in secrecy for a long time, and then one day I found out I was pregnant. I ran to tell him and he was so happy, our little miracle. We picked your name and he insisted Mills because he wanted you to have some type of status in the world, little did he know that wouldn't even matter now. He loved you with his whole heart and he sacrificed himself for us. Your father was a good man, sweet, loving, handsome, gentleman. Who wanted nothing but the best for his baby girl."

Listening to the story, once she finished, my eyes grew so tired from staying up so long this past week and christmas was tomorrow. I knew there was a long day ahead of me and I couldn't help it, I had fallen asleep in her lap, but she hadn't moved, she was still caressing my head. I knew in that moment, what a mother's love felt like.

"Baby girl. Wake up my love." Was all I heard while someone was gently shaking me. I slowly opened my eyes to see my mom smiling at me. My eyes met hers and I immediately returned a warm smile. I sighed of relief from the cuddly energy I was receiving and she just lightly chuckled. "Come on sleepy head, it's Christmas." I smirked, "But it's so warm under the blankets, and so cold outside of them." She laughed and Henry ran in the room, "Wake up! There are presents downstairs and I can't open them til you get your butt downstairs!" He said before running out the room. "Well, you heard your brother, let's go. There's breakfast ready too." I groaned, "Okay...only because I want some warm pancakes. But the blanket is coming with me." I wrapped myself in the blanket, looking like a caterpillar, I walked with my mom downstairs to see the tree full of presents. "Whoa. Mom. Those are a lot of presents..." She kissed me on the forehead, "Well being the Mayor's kids, you do have some perks, and nothing is too good for my babies."

I stood, still wide-eyed, "Still. You didn't have to go to big lengths for us." She walked ahead of me, leaving me on the stairs, "Oh hush and open your presents before your brother loses it." I laughed and glanced at Henry, who was sitting at the tree stacking all his presents. "All these are mine, those are yours." He smiled, "Can we open them now?!" He pleaded and when mom nodded, he tore into those presents like crazy. I went and sat by the tree, on the side where all my presents were, and grabbed the smallest box I saw. I studied the wrapping paper as I opened it. Once opened, the box contained a silver necklace with a silver heart hanging from it. I looked up at my mom with tear-filled eyes and she smiled with tears in her eyes too, "It has an inscription on it too. And there's more to open, we can cry later." She giggled.

I read the inscription, "To my baby girl, your mother and father love you more than you will ever know." I wanted to cry so badly, but I just held back the tears as I put the necklace on and continued opening my presents. By the time we were finished, Henry was laying in a pile of toys, clothes, and video games that he wanted. He was completely satisfied. Clothes, jewelry, makeup, a few autographed posters, an iPad, a new blanket, shoes, and the new video game I had wanted were surrounding me. But what really meant the most to me was that necklace I had around my neck and the matching ring. I promised myself to always wear them and keep them close.


End file.
